Everything you should know about Sunday’s Super Blood Moon
This Sunday, a super rare lunar eclipse is taking place that will totally blow your mind! It’s called the Super Blood Moon, and you won’t want to miss out on seeing this insane phenomenon. Here’s the need-to-know on Sunday’s must-see lunar event!
It’s caused by a few things. For a Super Blood Moon to take place, a lunar eclipse has to coincide with a full moon reaching perigee, or the closest point to Earth in the moon’s orbit. So not only does the moon look about 14 percent larger and 30 percent brighter, but the light refracting around the Earth causes it to look deep red.
It’s crazy rare. It’s not surprising that this doesn’t happen often, given the perfect conditions that have to come together. But the rarity of this kind of super moon is incredible. We’re talking five times in the past 115 years rare. The last one took place in 1982, and another isn’t expected until 2033. As for the total lunar eclipse, the next one should happen in 2018.
It’s going to be brightest on the East Coast. But that doesn’t mean those who aren’t close to the coast won’t be able to see it. In fact, it should be visible with your bare eyes, assuming the sky is clear. The super moon will peak at 10:47 pm EST on Sunday.
It’s part of a tetrad. Random trivia time: This will be the fourth lunar eclipse in what’s called a tetrad, or when a series of total lunar eclipses are set six months apart. The 21st century is actually seeing a lot of them, with an anticipated eighth happening before 2100. If that doesn’t seem like many crazy moons, keep in mind that between 1600 and 1900, there wasn’t a single tetrad.
Be sure to head outside on Sunday night to catch this awesome moon moment!
(Image via NASA)
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